AOL's Patch Adding 8,000 Bloggers in 'Full-On Course Correction'

Arianna Huffington must not be taking that class action lawsuit against her too seriously. Not only is AOL's new content chief not cutting down on the use of unpaid bloggers, she's doubling down -- literally. Patch, AOL's network of hyperlocal news sites, is trying to recruit as many as 8,000 bloggers in the next eight days, according to editor in chief Brian Farnham.

On Friday, Patch editors were told to start recruiting bloggers in preparation for the launch of its blog platform on May 4. Yesterday, Farnham issued a memo with concrete targets: Each editor is expected to sign up five to 10 new bloggers by then.

"The introduction of blogging on our sites is far more than just the release of a new feature," wrote Farnham. "It is a full-on course correction heading Patch in the direction we want to go."

He seemed to be anticipating grumbling from the ranks in response to the command.

"As for the question of why we are moving this fast after the go-slow approach presented on Friday, let me address that here: we're a startup," Farnham wrote [emphasis his]. "You've heard that before and it's going to remain true for some time. You all signed on knowing this was a young company, and while no one likes a fire drill, at the same time you have to get used to changes and moving fast if you want to be a Patch editor."

In fact, Patch editors have gotten quite used to abrupt about-faces and mixed messages in the last few months. Most recently, many rejoiced after Bloomberg reported that Patch would be "hiring as many as 800 full-time employees." The report quoted Huffington as saying, "Each site will now have its own team." That was welcome news to existing Patch editors, who typically operate solo, and who have seen their freelance budgets cut this year.

But the jubilation was short-lived, as Patch editors were subsequently informed that Huffington's comment should not be taken to mean that each site would be adding a second editor, merely that an as-yet-unknown number of editors will be hired at some point.